


grocery store interlude

by skioctober



Series: ode to self-indulgence [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Self-Insert, and having a moment while they're at it, back to Alyssa and Steve, being meddling worrywarts, but well-meaning worrywarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 12:23:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18828625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skioctober/pseuds/skioctober
Summary: She can bide her time, she thinks, selecting a bottle of white zinfandel and drifting toward the check-out.She can.But she may not have to wait for long.





	grocery store interlude

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little moment with the OG couple, before we move on to the holiday season.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated and I hope y'all enjoy reading.

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Between rows of potatoes and yams, distracted from her shopping, Alyssa sighs.

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and since everyone is coming to her place this year, she intends to go all-out with the dinner.

It's also her first Thanksgiving with Steve.

She'd been worried that two months was early yet to show him off to her parents, but Steve had proven eager, even offering to take her to New York for Christmas to meet his mother.

Thinking about that makes her anxious, though, so she pushes the thought aside.

She has time before the holiday, but she'd thought to do her shopping early. Only now, after a Snapchat message from her sister – Frankie staring into space with her tongue stuck out – Alyssa is thinking.

And she's perturbed.

Mixed in amongst the stress of the holiday season, and her progressing relationship with Steve, is the worry for her sister.

She knows Anna was crushed after things with her ex fell apart, that she's been struggling. Alyssa suspects she's having a harder time than she lets on – Anna doesn't ignore her problems, per se, but she rarely discusses them with others.

Then there's James.

Alyssa loves him like a wayward brother – he and Steve had come as a package deal, and she welcomed it. She genuinely believed James and Anna would be good together. She still does.

But maybe she'd pushed too much. She doesn't regret nagging Anna into leaving her apartment, God knows she needs to get out more, however she may have been remiss in trying to lump the two together.

She'd watched them slip outside together during Sam's party. They'd stayed out there nearly all night – Steve had found them both half asleep on the swing, an empty bottle of rum between them. It was an encouraging development and, she'd hoped, a turning point.

But nothing else has happened.

Anna and James are much friendlier with one another, true, and now Anna has no qualms about meeting up with the rest of them. Truthfully, they're getting along like a house on fire.

Both are too sarcastic and dry-humored for their own good and have formed some unholy alliance specifically intended to drive Steve and Alyssa up the wall.

But it stops there.

Despite their solidifying friendship, which Alyssa is pleased with, nothing else seems to be happening between them.

James had confessed to finding Anna pretty – to the point of making an ass of himself – and Anna has flat-out stated James is good-looking, but that's as far as it goes.

It's beyond frustrating.

“You keep frowning like that and your face'll get stuck.” Steve returns from the deli with fresh cheese and a whole turkey the size of a small car.

“You sound like my dad,” she remarks, turning the cart so he can set everything down.

“Then we'll probably get along when I meet him next week. What are you thinking so hard about?”

Alyssa sighs, grabbing potatoes at random and tossing them into a bag. “I was worrying about Anna, which led to worrying about Anna and James.”

“And? What about them?”

She mulls over her words, idly contemplating cranberries for the sauce only Anna will eat. “I'm pretty sure she's depressed, or close to it. I don't want to be too pushy, I know dating doesn't fix things like that, but I was really hoping she and James would hit it off. I mean they're getting along now, thank God, but that's it. It's driving me nuts.”

Steve hums in agreement. “I understand. Bucky's been through a lot himself, even before he lost his arm. He's still dealing with it all. Even if he's partial to Anna, there's nothing we can do if he's not ready, no matter how much we push and prod.”

“I guess so. I just want them to be happy.”

Steve spares her a soft, affectionate glance. “So do I. I think they will be.”

Alyssa steers the cart toward the wine aisle. She never could stand the stuff, but she's going to Anna's tonight and her sister drinks like a fish in the right mood. “You heard from Sam lately? Your Sam, I mean.”

Steve nods. “Yeah. Can't say much, but he said Buck's doing real good. He's been opening up more recently and Sam feels good about his progress.”

“That's good. Do you...do you think meeting Anna helped? Not for dating or anything, but just having that one other friend to talk to? I've never seen him with anyone but you, so...”

“We were close with the men in our unit, but after we lost them...it's been hard to connect with others.”

Alyssa reaches out, rubs a comforting hand over his arm. He's mentioned, in bits and broken pieces, the explosion that claimed James's arm and the lives of their comrades.

Steve was the unit leader and had taken full responsibility for the tragedy. Even now, three years later, he still carries the weight of it.

“Anyhow,” he continues, touching her hand gratefully. “I think it helps. You and Anna both, getting him out doing things. And neither of you make a big deal out of his arm, just treat him like any other man. Goes a long way.”

“We notice the arm, obviously.” She pauses beside a display of sweet reds, starts comparing brands and prices. “But only because it's, like, a part of him. Can't ignore it, but it doesn't make him any less of a person.”

Steve grins, pleased as punch. “That's what I love about you, doll.”

The words, said so easily, so carelessly, make her heart skip a beat. They haven't talked about love – it's definitely too soon for _that –_ but Alyssa knows she's headed that way fast, full-speed ahead.

Like Anna, Alyssa knows the pain of a shattered heart. Hopes and dreams smashed to pieces and left to decay. But unlike her sister, who is slow to heal and slower yet to begin again, Alyssa is able to dust herself off and go again.

The sting of failure has dulled with time, almost to nothing, and she defies it to hold her back. She wants to live, wide-open, bold and joyful. Wants the life that Steve is now a part of.

But she's learned the value of timing, of patience. She'll hold onto her words a little longer. Bide her time.

She glances over at Steve, who's now studying the different types of wines even though he won't be part of their girls night. He's staring hard at the Rieslings, remembering Anna's preference for them.

His thoughtfulness makes Alyssa melt.

She _can_ bide her time, she thinks, selecting a bottle of white zinfandel and drifting toward the check-out. She can.

But she may not have to wait for long.

 

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End file.
